


Twisted Fates

by AverageNerd321



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mental Instability, Revenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-05-28 00:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15036449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AverageNerd321/pseuds/AverageNerd321
Summary: "We are spinning our own fates, good or evil, never to be undone." - William James. They were connected before they even met. One desired revenge, the other wanted to keep his sanity under control. This is the tale of the rise of two of the most feared criminals in Gotham. Nygmobblepot. Seasons 1-my interpretation of Season 5 with canon divergences.





	1. Best Served Cold

"Don't ever come back to Gotham…"

The tone in Jim Gordon's voice was venomous, reminding him of his father whenever he "embarrassed him in public" or "disobeyed him" as a child. His body shook as uncomfortable memories surfaced in his mind and flashed before his eyes.

" _I thought I told you to stand still!"_

_SMACK!_

" _Don't you DARE lie to me, Oswald!"_

_SMACK!_

" _You are such a disappointment! You're not my son!"_

_SMACK!_

He wanted to stop hearing his father's voice and not be reminded of the abuse he had gone through…then, Gordon shot his gun and he panicked, plunging into the water below him.

Everything that followed was a blur until he got to the surface and checked his pulse while taking a relieved breath upon realizing that he was still alive.

He made it to shore and saw a man fishing nearby, a witness to his survival…a threat.

Oswald Cobblepot limped to where the man's lunchbox was and grabbed the knife. Without hesitation, he stabbed him and began eating a sandwich that was inside.

His only wish was that it had peanut butter in it, but there was no time to worry about something as ridiculous as that…he needed to get back to Gotham.

Every other word out of his mouth was a curse as he limped along the side of the road and tried exploring his options on what to do when he got back: Fish Mooney definitely wanted him dead after betraying her, so going back was risky.

But the idea of getting revenge on her and taking everything she controlled put a smile on his face. Oh, what he wouldn't give to see his mother's reaction when he becomes the King of Gotham…she would be so proud of him…

His thoughts were broken from the sounds of a car beeping at him with several young men inside staring at him.

"Hey, man, you need a lift?" one of them asked as he lowered the window.

 _They didn't recognize me, thank god…_ Oswald thought in relief.

"Uh…sure." he said, climbing into the backseat where the other two sat. "Thank you, gentlemen."

"You headed for Gotham?" the driver asked before his new passenger nodded in response.

The drive began and there was already one problem the criminal had found: these young men's tastes in music. He didn't recognize the song or the artist singing it, but it made him wish that he was listening to Tchaikovsky or some other composer.

It was only a minor issue though, which gave Oswald some time to fantasize about his savior: Detective Jim Gordon.

He never felt this way about anyone before, the last time he experienced these feelings was…a long time ago. Gordon saved his life, and Oswald wasn't kidding when he said that he would be his slave for life: he was in love with him.

There was something about his intense stares and clean cut look that drew him in and made his heart melt the moment they first met; it was as if nothing else mattered to him, except for Gordon.

Whenever Oswald was going to call him his friend, he meant it, his only hopes were that he felt the same…

Suddenly, the fantasy was interrupted when one of the young men in the car asked the other, "Dude, do you what this new guy here was walking like?"

"What?" the other guy asked.

"He was totally walking like a penguin!" the first guy said.

"Oh my god, he was!" the second guy said with a laugh, giving him a high five. "He looks like one too…"

That was the last straw for him. He wanted to murder every single one of these…immature BOYS and hopefully use it as a way to win over Gordon's approval, and most importantly, his love.

 _No…save your energy for your revenge. Nothing matters, except getting revenge…_ Oswald thought.

It would be too easy to kill them and the police would catch him before he could do anything else. Fish was his one and only target, and these infuriating young men were only minor annoyances compared to her.

He would kill her and take over the criminal underworld, nothing was going to stop him…


	2. A Man of Science

Edward Nygma wiped some sweat off of his forehead as he finished examining the body of a dead teenager. He loved his job so much since he could chase down knowledge without his parents and siblings judging him. Unfortunately, he had to deal with the judgement of his fellow coworkers.

Grabbing the notes he had taken during the examination, Edward dashed out of the lab and towards Captain Essen's office. He couldn't wait to tell her, Gordon, and his partner, Harvey Bullock, about the information he had discovered.

Edward was practically bouncing up and down like a kid on Christmas as he twisted the doorknob and opened the door with a smile on his face, holding out his notepad.

"Look at what I found!" he said as he showed them.

"Nice timing…" Bullock said sarcastically.

"Well, what did you find?" Captain Essen asked.

"The victim had a knockout drug in his system. ATP to be precise." Edward said, pointing out what he wrote.

"That's nice and all, Nygma, but—" Gordon began to say.

"What do you throw out when you need it, but put it away when you don't?" Edward asked them.

"Don't…just don't. Keep telling us WITHOUT the riddles." Bullock said.

"This drug isn't available on the streets, which means the criminals must've stolen it from pharmacies." Edward said. "Also, the answer is an anchor if you were curious."

"Thanks for the information, Nygma." Captain Essen said.

"It's nothing, Captain. Did you know that tissues were used originally for gas masks?" Edward asked.

"No offense, but you should go." Gordon said.

The forensics scientist adjusted his glasses and nodded, walking back to the lab as he fidgeted with his notes. He admired Gordon and Bullock for their respect of his intelligence and the fact that they didn't judge him.

Before entering the lab, he grabbed a newspaper from yesterday and flipped through it until reaching an article regarding yesterday's incident at the docks. According to rumors, Gordon had killed a man who worked for Fish in cold blood because he snitched on her to the GCPD.

Part of Edward was very curious about the situation, wanting to take in every single detail on what happened. He read through it as his curiosity increased the more he looked at the article, but the last words caught his attention: _As of now, Oswald Cobblepot has been confirmed missing…_

Reading the name to himself made Edward's tongue turn to lead, it had an almost gothic sound to it and he shivered upon reading that last sentence again.

His glance went to the photo of said missing person: his hair was sticking up with his bangs in his face as he was dressed in a suit. His face reminded Edward of a bird due to his pointed nose.

Something sparked in him as he looked at the picture, he was…fascinated by Fish's "loyal" umbrella boy. What was his personality like? Would they cross paths in the future? Excitedly, Edward darted into the lab and took a pair of scissors, cutting out the picture in a hurry.

"Oswald Cobblepot…" he said to himself with a shiver. "You seem to be one interesting man…"

Edward placed the picture in his pants pocket and gave it a small pat before returning to work. He was going to make it a goal to meet Oswald Cobblepot…


	3. No Place Like Home

The saying "there's no place like home" had no impact on Oswald whatsoever before, but now, it was a true description to how he was feeling now. His grin only widened as he stepped off the city bus and into the streets of the city he called home.

 _Never change, Gotham…_ he thought as he watched a criminal run off with a woman's purse.

The crime wave was the best thing that happened to the city in his eyes, and it seemed to bring out the worst in people with how corrupted society truly is. It wasn't surprising to him at all because even without it, people were still corrupt and twisted.

He shot glares at passing civilians who noticed the way he walked. If they were to make ONE comment, he would kill them like what he had done with everyone else during his quest to return to Gotham.

To Oswald, they were roadblocks in his way to kill a certain parasite infecting the city's criminal underworld. Nothing, not even the GCPD, was ever going to stop him…

* * *

Edward stared at the missing poster he placed down on his table after he examined a body from a recent murder. He tapped a pen on the table as he quickly looked at the blank piece of paper nearby, thinking about what he should write about him.

"Oswald Cobblepot…" he said to himself. "What would be the best way to describe you?"

Edward had been thinking about him since last night, unable to get him out of his head since the interest in him was still there just waiting to explode the moment he was going to meet this mysterious criminal.

"Let's see: the intensity in his eyes start fires…that could work." he said while writing down several verses to his poem.

Poetry was one of his favorite hobbies, a way to help him get his thoughts and feelings down without outright expressing it. It was his escape from reality, but it felt so good to write descriptively.

Once he was finished with his poem, he folded it and did the same for the poster, placing them inside his personal file. Edward smiled to himself as he hoped that it was another step closer to meet his favorite criminal.

* * *

Oswald limped through an alleyway until a voice said, "Well, well, well…looks like the little Penguin waddled his way back to Gotham…"

He turned and saw a man, presumably one of Fish's henchmen, giving him an angered stare. He had to think of a plan to throw him off…

"What? Me? I'm afraid you're mistaking me for another man named Oswald Cobblepot." Oswald said, putting on his weasel act before the man grabbed him from his jacket collar.

"Fish's got a high price for your head on a silver platter." the man said. "Jeez, how stupid do you have to be to come back when the boss wants you dead? What exactly IS your goal?"

The former umbrella boy got out of his grasp and glared at him as he said, "I'm the future of the crime world…"

He slowly pulled out a knife from his pocket and tackled the man before he slashed the knife through his body. Soon enough, parts of the corpse were cut into pieces, which stained the streets with blood.

Oswald took some money out of the man's wallet and threw what remained in the trash. At least he found something useful…

* * *

Edward took a deep breath as he cleaned his scalpel. He wasn't pleased with hearing rumors from the other cops that Oswald Cobblepot was murdered by Gordon, so he could prove himself to the mob.

 _No…there's no way that can be true. They're being ridiculous…_ he thought.

He knew for a fact that there wasn't any evidence to be found, not to mention that the newspapers and missing posters PROVED that he was just missing. It was just currently an inconvenience for him.

"I need to get him out of my head for a bit, this is just unhealthy that I keep thinking about him." Edward said as he walked to the door to the lab.

Suddenly, his heart stopped upon seeing a familiar woman place a folder down in the archives room: it was Kristen Kringle, his crush.

Ever since he first got his job, Edward had been completely smitten with her, but he never had the chance to talk to her since they were equally busy with their respective jobs.

 _Maybe just watching her for a while will distract me._ he thought.

Much to his disappointment, Edward couldn't see her well from the door to the lab, but could make out her silhouette as she placed a stack of folders down nearby and left the room.

"Damnit…" he said to himself once she was out of sight.

The forensics scientist then grabbed a newspaper he bought yesterday that had the article that sparked his obsession with Oswald inside and read it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get him out of his head.

* * *

Oswald smirked as he approached _Bamonte's,_ remembering that he heard rumors from Fish and her other henchman that it was front for the Maroni crime family. It was the perfect place to set his plan into motion…

He casually walked inside and limped towards the bar while he nearly tripped over the stool as he sat down.

"Champagne, make it a cold one." he said to the bartender who nodded and gave it to him.

As he swished his glass around in boredom, Oswald overheard two men talking: one he assumed was the manager of this establishment and the other he recognized as Sal Maroni, the Don of the crime family.

He listened in on the conversation as he heard mentions of Falcone, another crime boss, and Arkham, one of the districts in the city. Once the conversation was over, he saw Maroni coming over and looked away to act casual.

Oswald felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Maroni sitting beside him.

"I've never seen you around these parts…what's your name?" the crime boss asked.

"Oh, I'm no one, really." Oswald said.

"No one, huh? Tell me, do the words Falcone or Arkham mean anything to you?"

"No, not at all."

"You know, you remind me of someone I knew a long time ago…" Maroni said as he pulled up a picture on his phone.

The criminal's blood turned cold with rage upon recognizing the other man in the picture with Maroni: the dark grey eyes with the slicked back black hair, pointed facial features, and thin moustache along with the sharp suit and permanent snooty look on his face was all too familiar to Oswald.

"His name was Terrance Cobblepot, he was a businessman and a great friend to the different mob groups too. He was very intelligent, but ruthless, you should've seen him when he gets angry or passionate. It's such a shame he died under mysterious circumstances a long time ago…" Maroni said before he noticed his companion's expression. "Are you alright, sir?"

Oswald noticed he was breathing heavily in anger and said, "I…I need to step outside for a moment."

He paid the bartender and limped outside, relieved that he dodged a bullet with giving himself away over getting angered by seeing a picture of his father…

* * *

"And that's another one down for today." Edward said as he finished writing his notes, which concluded the examination of a corrupt cop who had died.

He placed his notepad down and went to grab the newspaper and took out the page that he had been obsessing over when he first started taking interest in Oswald.

 _We'll meet someday…_ Edward thought.

Shaking his head and feeling like he was obsessing too much, he decided to return to work in examining the next body.

* * *

Oswald limped through the apartment, hoping to find someone who could possibly help him with his quest for vengeance. He approached the large, dark double doors and knocked as he braced himself to not get thrown out of the apartment.

Then, a blonde woman answered the door and stared at him before turning to the inside of the penthouse and saying, "Jim, we have a visitor."

Oswald could feel his heart pounding like crazy in his chest as he saw Gordon looking right at him.

 _Perfect…_ he thought with a grin.

"Hello, old friend." he said to him.


	4. Obsession

"Hello, old friend."

To Oswald, it felt so good saying that to Gordon. The blonde woman didn't even exist as he locked eyes with his savior. Just staring at Gordon made Oswald want to just stand there and drool over him.

"Who are you exactly?" the blonde asked, which broke him out of his love-struck state.

"Oh! I'm just one of Gordon's friends. He helped me out of this scrape I got into with the mob…it's nothing special, really," he said. "What's your name?"

"It's Barbara. You DO realize that Jim here is my—" she began to say before Gordon excused himself and dragged the criminal out of the apartment with him.

The two stepped outside onto the street as Gordon glared at him.

 _We're finally alone together…_ Oswald thought in excitement.

Unfortunately, Gordon grabbed him by his shirt and asked, "Why did you come back? You shouldn't have done that! Falcone will have BOTH of our heads if he finds out that you didn't die!"

His companion had him let go, which confused the cop. What had gotten into him?

"I couldn't go anywhere else," Oswald said before he stared up at him and ran his hand up his chest, his voice lowering into a seductive tone. "I can be your informer on what my former…allies have been up to. You see, Fish and even Bullock have lied to you. I would NEVER do that."

 _Is he…seducing me? But I'm engaged!_ Gordon thought.

Now, the situation was really awkward: the man he was told to kill was flirting with him. How was he supposed to get out of this without hurting his feelings?

"A war is coming, Gordon. Something that even the GCPD wouldn't expect…"

"What's this war about?"

 _Oh, I can only imagine the things you and I could do together once I take over the criminal underworld…_ Oswald thought.

"All I know is that it's focused on Arkham." he said before leaving.

Even if the meeting didn't go as he expected, Oswald couldn't be any happier to see him again.

* * *

Edward moved a few boxes out of the way in his closet while clutching on a few pieces of paper and a small figure. Inside beyond the boxes were the picture of Oswald from that article, the missing poster, a small section of the article about him being confirmed missing, and several pieces of paper with poetry written on it scattered around.

He scattered the paper he had with the rest while staring at the figure in his hand: a small, golden penguin. Edward thought that it was only logical to put it with the rest since his favorite criminal looked like the bird.

Once he was finished, he smiled in satisfaction and sealed his ever-growing shrine with the boxes to cover it.

* * *

The next day, Oswald stared out the window of his apartment at the dreary skies outside while thinking about Gordon and their encounter yesterday. All that was on his mind was how close he was to him as he vowed to become his underworld informer.

"Mother, I need your advice," he said. "There's this…person that I like. He's one of the cops who had the Wayne Family's killer slain, but I'm afraid that he might not accept me for who I am."

He bit his lip to prevent the tears from rushing down his face when the memory of the person he used to love a long time ago came up. It was a quite a shame that his old crush didn't feel the same way…

His mother, Gertrude, immediately stopped what she was doing and went up to him as she stroked his hair to comfort him.

"Oh, Oswald…I believe you should give him a little time before you tell him how you feel." she said.

 _What if I don't have time with the war that'll happen?_ Oswald thought in fear.

"Of course, whatever you say, mother." he said.

He couldn't tell her that the killer was framed and that he was the one who snitched on his boss. There was no way she could know…

* * *

Edward dashed out of the copy room with various pictures in his arms as he had a confident smile on his face. After what felt like an eternity, he finally had them printed out, so he could add them to the shrine later.

Once he arrived at the lab, Edward shoved the photos, which consisted of security footage from Fish's nightclub, into a folder. Hacking into the cameras was a challenge, but he managed to get the footage of Oswald in different areas of the building with ease.

"So, he works at a nightclub run by a well-known mobster? Fascinating…" he said to himself.

Edward placed his folder down before returning to his work.

* * *

Oswald sat at the bar in _Bamonte's_ as he drank from his champagne glass. Spying on Maroni and his men was surprisingly easy so far despite that he almost got caught. As he swished his glass around, a group of men walked by carrying money.

"Hmm?" he asked as he got up and limped after them.

He was about to follow them into the back room, but stopped when he saw Maroni nearby.

"So, you're back…" the Don said.

"Of course, I am. I'm a regular customer after all," Oswald said with a grin. "I also apologize that I left so suddenly the other day. It's not every day that you meet an infamous gangster…"

"It's alright, sir, but don't bother going into that backroom that my men just went in. Understood?"

"Cross my heart."

Maroni nodded as the two went their separate ways and Oswald took his seat back at the bar.

* * *

The next day, the GCPD were investigating a murder outside of Arkham Asylum while photographers rushed around and took pictures while cops and detectives examined the body, which Edward recently took notes on.

He ran up to Gordon and Bullock as he waved the notes in their faces, much to Bullock's annoyance.

"Don't be such a spaz, Nygma. Just tell us, WITHOUT any of your riddles." he said with a groan.

"Well, the two councilmen were hit by the same weapon, meaning that the killer took both of them out," Edward said. "What gets broken without being held?"

"DON'T." Bullock said to him.

"This doesn't make any sense though…the killer is going after two people who are on opposing sides of the Maroni-Falcone crime war." Gordon said.

"A promise! The answer is a promise." Edward said, rudely interrupting their conversation.

Ignoring him, Bullock laughed sarcastically and said, "Only in Gotham…"

They walked off, leaving Edward by himself to continue investigating the crime scene.

* * *

At _Bamonte's_ , Oswald stared at his glass in boredom before he heard Maroni complain to the manager. The Don was talking about a robbery yesterday and how he was going to take revenge on Falcone for doing this.

 _Interesting, VERY interesting…how do I use this to my advantage?_ the criminal thought.

He listened in further and smirked at all the valuable information he was receiving. It was a perfect way to get Gordon's affections. By feeding him the details, his beloved detective was sure to fall for him…

Once he had control over everything, Oswald would be able to rule Gotham's crime with Gordon beside him. It was a dream worth chasing in his eyes since he saw a future with him the minute they met.

He was going to do everything in his power to make that fantasy come true…

* * *

"Alright, in you go…" Edward said as he scattered the security footage from the nightclub into the shrine.

He was so proud with how much it had been growing the past several days with all the poetry he wrote and the photos.

 _Is this too unhealthy? I should get my mind off of this and focus on Kristen instead._ Edward thought.

The forensics scientist placed the boxes back in their right places to hide the shrine and grabbed some paper and a pen.

"Let's see…I rarely see Kristen Kringle clearly, so how would describing her go?" he asked himself while sitting at his desk.

This was going to be an interesting one for him…

* * *

Oswald limped into the abandoned apartment while carrying a pastry box. A group of criminals who were counting money immediately jumped up from their seats and pointed their guns at him.

"Now, now, gentlemen…I just wanted to give my thanks for doing that little robbery of _Bamonte's_ for me." he said in a reassuring tone.

"What's in the box?" one of the criminals asked.

"I bought you three some cannoli," Oswald said, handing them the box. "Be sure to eat it, I got this from the best bakery in town."

The trio immediately began eating as another criminal asked while holding out his cannoli, "Hey, boss, want some?"

"No, I ate earlier…" he said.

Oswald smirked as the criminals finished eating. Almost immediately, they held onto their stomachs before collapsing onto the floor at the same time while groaning. Once they stopped moving, he gathered up the money and left.


	5. Discovery and Flare Ups

"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Maroni said as he punched the wall.

The workers of _Bamonte's_ fell silent in fear hearing their boss's reaction. Oswald, on the other hand, had no reaction. He had to get more information out of this conversation Maroni was having with his right-hand man, Frankie.

"We all know that, boss." Frankie said with a sigh.

"Frankie, organize a robbery of Falcone's casino. We're taking down that son of a bitch!" Maroni said.

Frankie nodded and immediately ran off to plan the robbery. Oswald smirked upon hearing this, the more information, the better. He couldn't wait to give this all to Gordon since spying on Maroni and his men had gotten stale for him.

 _Once I get what I need, I can move onto Falcone's group…_ Oswald thought.

* * *

Edward carried the photos of security footage from _Bamonte's_ to the lab. He couldn't contain his excitement: Oswald Cobblepot was apparently a regular customer at _Bamonte's_ , only getting cold champagne and sitting at the bar.

 _He likes his champagne cold, huh? This is so interesting!_ Edward thought while putting the security footage in a folder.

He held it close to his chest and sighed while he started to fantasize about his favorite criminal. The forensics scientist imagined himself with Oswald as they drank champagne together and talked about everything from their interests to their likes and dislikes.

Suddenly, a knock at the door snapped him out of his trance. Edward hid the folder and answered the door where an annoyed cop was holding out a case file.

"We got a new case, Nygma. Get to work." he said before leaving.

"Rude much?" Edward asked himself with a groan.

Maybe this could get his mind off of Oswald for a while…

* * *

Oswald ripped what was the hundredth picture of Fish apart while standing in his room and looking at the crime map he set up to plan out his devious scheme. He threw what remained of the picture into the trash and took a deep breath.

His gaze went to the headline with a picture of Gordon and Bullock (Bullock was crossed out) as the title read _Hero Cops slay Waynes' Killer!_ He remembered seeing that headline before dropping the news to the Major Crimes Unit detectives about how the "killer" was framed.

"Oh, Gordon, I hope you know how I feel about you. You can't trust anyone in Gotham, but me," he said while stroking the picture.

Oswald knew that Gordon was just an afterthought and that he had to do this all for himself with no one else standing in his way or distracting him, but the idea of controlling crime with him was too good of a fantasy to give up.

 _Now, I move onto the next part of my plan…_ he thought as he smirked at the photos of Maroni and Falcone.

* * *

The next day, Edward burst into Captain Essen's office where Gordon and Bullock were talking to her about the recent case as he fidgeted with his notepad.

"This is a really fascinating case if I do say so myself…boy, do I have A LOT to say!" he said with a smile.

"Go on, Nygma." Captain Essen said.

"What has two ends, but no beginning?" Edward asked.

"No, just…no. If I want riddles, which I don't, I would have low expectations. VERY low expectations at that." Bullock said, groaning.

"Well, the drug gives the user super-human strength, but it drains them of calcium, so they try to get it back through dairy products. They later die of suffocation from eating or drinking too fast." Edward said. "By the way, the answer is a rope."

"Where is this drug made? Only some super sophisticated lab would make drugs like that." Gordon asked.

"My guess is that this subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises, WellZyn, is responsible for this. Did you know—" Edward began to say before seeing the person who had recently took the drug throwing some cops aside.

"Come on, Jim!" Bullock said, running out of the office with his partner.

The forensics scientist took this as his cue to leave and followed them out. On his way back to the lab, he saw the victim collapse onto the ground.

"Oh dear…" he said to himself.

He closed the door and took a deep breath as he took his folder and gazed at the security footage he printed out.

"Soon, we'll meet, Oswald Cobblepot," Edward said. "Soon…"

* * *

"Boss, I don't think robbing Falcone is the best idea. His place has so many guards that we'll get overpowered." Frankie said as he and Maroni paced around _Bamonte's._

"You don't say?" Maroni asked before noticing Oswald looking away from the scene from the bar. "Wait a minute…"

He pulled out his phone and opened up the picture of him and Terrance and looked at that and the criminal sitting at the bar.

"Are you alright, boss?" Frankie asked.

Maroni didn't answer as he gritted his teeth and grumbled to himself that he should've known from the start as Frankie ran off. Oswald got up from his seat and limped to the before clearing his throat.

"I hate to interrupt, but I have some valuable information that might help: I knew a man who worked at Falcone's casino. You see, he told me that the casino has underground tunnels that the criminals use to bring in the money." he said.

"Really? How do you know this exactly?" Maroni asked suspiciously.

"Well…I may have known Fish Mooney for a short amount of time." Oswald said.

 _You idiot! I can't believe you gave yourself away! He'll have your head!_ he thought to himself.

Maroni let out a laugh and said, "Good joke…"

Suddenly, he slammed his "regular customer" against the wall, keeping his head pressed down.

"I can see the family resemblance…you look EXACTLY like my old friend, Terrance, but without a mustache and the fact that you have a different eye color. I wouldn't be surprised if you acted like him too…"

"I'm nothing like my father!"

"You're caught, Cobblepot. I was generous enough to you, but I don't like being fooled." Maroni said.

Oswald started to sweat. He was caught! What was he going to do now?

* * *

Edward grabbed the recent security footage from the copy machine and walked to the lab while looking over the images from _Bamonte's._ He shuffled through the pictures until he saw his favorite criminal getting pressed against the wall with his head down.

His heart nearly stopped as he growled and looked over the picture again. How DARE someone try to hurt him? Once he calmed down, he had no idea why he had a sudden burst of anger and shook his head.

 _I'm probably overreacting...I don't even know him personally._ Edward thought.

He shoved the pictures in his folder and slammed it shut, not wanting to look at the picture again. Unknown to him, his reflection on the table seemed to smile evilly at this…

* * *

Oswald's head was spinning as _Bamonte's_ was a blur around him. He was sitting beside Maroni who was watching the door and tapping his fingers impatiently. The door opened as Frankie came in.

"Got 'im, boss." he said while accompanied by a familiar figure.

"G-Gordon?" Oswald asked.

 _Did he come here to save me again?_ he thought.

"So, you're Jim Gordon?" Maroni asked. "Welcome! Now, a little birdy here told me some pretty interesting things. Tell me EXACTLY what happened. If your stories match, then he's telling the truth. If not, I'll have to kill you both."

Oswald felt his heart skip a beat as Gordon looked him right in the eye.

"I have no idea what he told you, but my partner and I were investigating the Wayne Family murders. The killer was framed and it was all part of some conspiracy between the Falcone Crime Family and the GCPD. To keep me silent, Falcone had me kill Mr. Cobblepot here, but I didn't have the strength to do it." Gordon said.

The way the cop said his last name nearly made Oswald's pointed nose start bleeding more. Maroni put his head over his mouth in thought upon hearing the whole story.

"Did anyone like the GCPD, Fish Mooney, or Detectives Montoya and Allen know that he's still alive?" the Don asked.

"No, if that did happen, we would both be dead." Gordon said, giving Oswald another look.

The criminal blushed and looked down. He dreamed of his moment, but now wasn't the best time and he couldn't tell him his feelings immediately.

Maroni smiled at Gordon and said, "Well, that means the little penguin here is telling the truth, but since I'm feeling generous, he'll be my new weapon against Falcone. You can go off now."

Gordon nodded and left while Oswald repressed the urge to call out his name and run after him. This put a large dent in his plans for sure…

* * *

Edward placed the photos inside the shrine and sealed it up, taking a deep breath. He couldn't get his little flare up from earlier today out of his mind, and it was killing him that he didn't understand why.

He admired Oswald, yes, but wasn't sure if he had feelings for him yet since they would have to meet first. Edward paced around and still thought why he had that outburst, he never had any anger problems in the past.

There were only minor things that annoyed him like whenever his older brother was being overdramatic, the cops who tend to pick on him, one officer who ate from the candy bowl on his desk while working, and Bullock's sarcastic comments, but Oswald getting beaten truly angered him.

 _I should calm down…_ he thought before grabbing a book that was on his nightstand.

* * *

 

Oswald was crammed in the back of a car that was parked outside of Falcone's casino with Maroni and Frankie. When some men came out carrying bags of money, the car immediately drove off.

"Well, that was easy…" Frankie said.

"Are you kidding?" Maroni asked. "This is amazing! You know, Cobblepot, you're not so bad after all."

He slapped the criminal on the back, making Oswald cringe. How was he going to betray him and move onto making Falcone's group crumble without being caught?


	6. Back from the Grave

POP! The lid of the crimson colored marker came off easily as he looked over the headline and picture again with _Hero Cops slay Waynes' killer!_ in bold letters. He moved the marker over Bullock's place in the photo, and began to scribble him out like mad as he hoped to make sure the detective wasn't in the picture.

"You don't exist…Barbara doesn't exist…" Oswald said to the scribbled-out mess of where Bullock used to stand in the photo. "Only I get to have Gordon."

The impatience was making him go insane. Sure, he appreciated his mother's advice more than anything, but just waiting to tell him how he felt just wasn't enough. The clock was still ticking for the crime war, and there probably wasn't any time left.

 _He'll HAVE to love me then…whenever I want something, I take it!_ he thought.

* * *

Edward squealed in excitement: he couldn't believe that the Spirit of the Goat, a popular urban legend in Gotham, was possibly true, not to mention that it was the latest case. He was so glad the archives were right outside his lab, which would make it easy for him to get there.

From the very second he stepped out, his heart stopped when he locked eyes with HER: Kristen Kringle. He finally got to see her clearly…and she was as beautiful as he imagined.

"Miss Kringle!" he said while attempting to hide his blush.

"Are you looking for something, Ed?" she asked.

Edward felt his face heat up when he heard her call him that as he asked, "What pulls you down and never lets go?"

"That really doesn't answer my question…are you alright?" Kristen said in concern.

"I…yes, well…I'm looking for information for research on the Spirit of the Goat case…Gravity! The answer's gravity!"

"Okay…? I have information on the old case from ten years ago if you want to check it out."

She handed him a folder as he asked, "Did you know that the French language has seventeen different words for surrender?"

"That's interesting and all, but I would hate to distract you from studying for this case." Kristen said.

Edward's smile faltered at this since he really wanted to spend time with her. Accepting defeat, he nodded and walked back into the lab. Once inside, he groaned.

"Damnit, Ed! You shouldn't have turned into such a stuttering idiot!" he said.

Maybe talking to Oswald would be easier if they ever met?

* * *

"No, no, no! The ending to this doesn't sound right!" Oswald said as he ripped up the paper he was writing his confession to Gordon on and tossed it in the trash.

" _I hope you like it, Gordon, because all I can offer you is my heart?" Ugh, so cheesy!_ he thought.

Gertrude walked into the room as her son grabbed a piece of paper and impatiently tapped his pen on the table and asked, "Oswald, are you alright?"

"Nothing, mother," he said, looking up from his paper and watching her take a seat next to him. "I'm so tired of people underestimating and rejecting me. Everyone has treated me like that, except for you."

"Is that why you seem distracted? Oh, my poor son! Growing up, everyone, except your father, felt the same way about me. They're just jealous of you, Oswald."

Oswald wanted to scoff upon hearing that his father was kind to her when they met. He only knew one side to him that his mother never really witnessed, it was as if she were talking about a different person.

"I know, mother. I can tell that they're jealous." he said while writing down his confession.

"Remember this, Oswald…" Gertrude said. "You're destined to be greater than them. Promise me that you'll never forget that."

"Of course I promise! I swear to you, I'll become an important person in the history of Gotham, even more than those mobsters, the Wayne family, or father!"

She smiled at him and gave her son a kiss on the cheek before leaving the room to grab her sewing supplies. Oswald took a deep breath and continued to write.

* * *

That night, Edward was pulled aside by Gordon and Bullock, who were looking over a list of employees who worked in the buildings of the two victims.

"Nygma, we need your help. No ands, ifs, or buts." Bullock said with a stern expression.

"Uh, what is it?" he asked them.

"We're trying to find a suspect matching to the original Spirit of the Goat." Gordon said as he handed the forensics scientist the list. "Think of trying to find him or her as like a puzzle."

"Oooh! I love puzzles!" Edward said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah! Go figure it out and make it a quick one! I don't want anyone…to get hurt again like what happened ten years ago." Bullock said.

He was shocked by how Bullock's voice went from his normal sarcasm to a saddened, regretful tone. Shaking it off, Edward immediately went to the lab and got to work on finding the suspect.

Several minutes later, he ran up to Gordon and Bullock while handing them the list.

"So, you found it. You actually did something right for once." Bullock said.

"The suspect is Raymond Earl. He was last seen at the theater where the first Spirit of the Goat was killed," Edward said. "What gets— "

"Thank you so much, but we have to go!" Gordon said before running off with Bullock and leaving Edward behind.

* * *

Oswald took a deep breath as he stared at his written confession for Gordon and paced around, his mother watching his every move.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Oswald? I thought I told you to give him time." Gertrude asked in concern.

"I know, mother, but this is important," Oswald said with a sigh. "What if there isn't any time left?"

"You shouldn't trust anyone in Gotham, except for me. The police are all liars."

"But mother, I love him! He's different from those other cops. He saved my life…I just can't let him slip away from me! I just can't!"

Noticing her son's reaction, his mother's expression softened as she said, "I understand how much you care about him, Oswald, but I can't risk seeing your feelings get hurt again like with that Alistar boy."

Oswald bit his lip since he knew who she was talking about. He hadn't heard the name Alistar in a long time…

 _No, he doesn't matter anymore…Gordon WILL accept me for sure. I'll just go to the GCPD and confess my feelings._ he thought.

* * *

Edward stared at the shrine as he wished to have put more things inside. He had been so distracted by Kristen and the Spirit of the Goat case that he forgot that Oswald even existed. It might've been better for him, but a part of him was still attached to him.

"I can't forget about him. All that matters to me is that I meet him and tell him how amazing he is." he said.

He stared at the missing poster as questions filled his mind: did they find him? Is he even still in the city? Oswald was a mystery to him, almost like…a riddle.

And Edward LOVED riddles. It was as if they were destined to meet. He took a deep breath and sealed the shrine with the boxes before getting up to write some poetry about his favorite criminal.

No matter what was going to happen, he wanted to make sure more than anything that he would be face to face with him…

* * *

Oswald smirked as he approached the GCPD and patted his jacket pocket where his confession was in. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time now…

The criminal cleared his throat before opening the doors and walking in: it was chaos all around him as Montoya and Allen were preparing to arrest Gordon and Bullock while Captain Essen watched the scene.

Upon seeing him, Bullock and the rest of the cops' jaws dropped while Gordon shook his head in disbelief. Oswald smiled at everyone's reactions as he bowed.

"Oswald Cobblepot, at your service." he said.

Montoya and Allen backed off from Gordon and Bullock in shock, unsure how to process all of this.

Bullock glared at his partner and groaned, saying, "Great! Just great! Now, Falcone's going to kill all of us!"


	7. Flashback: How it all Began

_Ideas, whether it be for world domination or a chance to do good, all begin with a spark to ignite the flame. For Oswald, the spark occurred that dreary day in the alley outside of his boss's nightclub._

_He stood beside Fish and held onto her umbrella as she tortured an associate who was caught stealing money from them. As she rammed her bat at the man one last time, Oswald moved to get a better look._

" _Boy, I'm not letting my hair get messy!" she said to him._

" _Sorry…" he said._

_Then, Fish left after one of the bartenders told her that Bullock was here to talk to her._

" _Oswald, do you want a turn?" Butch, Fish's bodyguard, asked him as he held out the bat to him._

" _Sure," Oswald said with a nod, taking the bat. "Thank you."_

_At first, he poked the old associate with the bat and grinned upon seeing his pained expression before hitting him again and laughing maniacally._

_Several moments later, after hitting him more, Butch said, "Alright, that's enough."_

" _Yeah, we don't want him dead, Penguin," one of Fish's men said while glaring at him._

_Oswald felt his blood boil as he turned to the man._

" _Don't. Call. Me. That." he said._

" _Oh, I'm so scared…" the man said under his breath._

_Before Oswald could go after him, that was when HE showed up. The detective held up his badge and introduced himself._

" _James Gordon, GCPD." he said before putting his badge away._

_To Oswald, seeing Gordon for the first time was like seeing color in this gloomy, drab, city. Butch and everyone else seemed to fade away, only leaving Gordon in sight._

" _Drop the bat." Gordon said to him._

_The criminal's heart stopped, which made him drop Fish's bat with a swift CLUNK._

" _We weren't doing much," Butch said while patting the associate on the shoulder. "Raoul was just having some fun with Oswald."_

_Gordon eyed Oswald suspiciously, making his heart beat hard in his chest. What was he going to say now?_

" _Uh…yeah, it's just all in good fun…" he said as he found himself lost in Gordon's eyes._

_Once Gordon left, Butch threw Raoul to the ground and Oswald gazed at the direction his new crush went in._

* * *

_A few days later, the criminal stared at the front page of the day's newspaper, which had Gordon and Bullock on it as the headline declared them as "hero cops who caught the Waynes' killer."_

_Staring at Gordon's picture made him want to drool all over it, but he didn't want to look like an idiot for doing something like that. The sounds of a nearby police cruiser broke him out of this lovesick state of mind as Detectives Montoya and Allen sat in the front._

_Oswald smirked and limped into the cruiser, sitting in the backseat. Now was his chance to put his plan into motion…_

" _The Wayne Family killer was framed. I saw Fish Mooney put Martha Wayne's necklace in a bag for him. This occurred once Gordon and Bullock left the nightclub." he said in a casual tone._

_Allen raised an eyebrow and asked, "Wait, are you saying that Falcone had the Waynes killed? Fish works for him."_

_Oswald shrugged in response. He had to play his cards right to not be suspicious._

" _But why would you want to snitch on your boss?" Montoya asked._

" _I think it has to do with that poor boy. Bruce Wayne, I believe is his name. Everyone is sympathetic towards an orphan, right?" he said._

" _No, I don't think it's that. You want to turn on your boss and take over everything." Allen said with a laugh._

_Oswald groaned and rolled his eyes, asking, "So, what If I want to take over everything? I already told you what I know. Anyways, farewell, my friends…"_

_He then got out of the cruiser and walked off. Everything was going according to plan…_

* * *

_The following night, at the club, the criminal was busy organizing some papers when the door opened. Oswald immediately got up from his seat and saw Gordon walk in as he felt his breathing grow heavy._

" _Detective Gordon!" he said, hoping that it didn't sound like he squeaked._

" _Tell Fish I'm here." Gordon said as he ignored his flustered state._

" _Why? You could talk with me instead of her."_

" _Just let me see her."_

_Oswald tried to block his path, but Gordon shoved past him with ease._

" _Oh…um, yes, of course." Oswald said with a nervous laugh._

_Gordon actually touched him when he pushed him aside…it wasn't even hard at all compared to the other pushes he had been through, instead, it was gentle. And he loved it…_

* * *

_Hours had past and much to his distaste, Oswald was stuck at the nightclub with Fish, who was listening to some comedian who was visiting. She then got on the phone with Bullock and they talked for a moment while he waited for his moment to strike._

_Soon, Butch was back on the line and she was yelling at him to hang Bullock up next to his partner. Now, it was Oswald's time to shine and turn on the bitch he called his boss. All he needed to do was act innocent._

" _Falcone's gone soft lately. It's about time for someone to take over." Fish said to him._

" _Of course, you're the only person fit for this." Oswald said as he nodded._

" _I'm on the verge of great things, Oswald, but a little SOMEBODY snitched on me to the cops. Any guesses on who might've done that?" she asked._

_His blood turned cold upon hearing that. How did she find out? Someone must've told her…_

" _Butch did it." he said, the words stumbling out of his mouth._

" _No, Butch is loyal."_

" _I am too! I swear, I would stab myself in the chest if I could to prove myself!"_

_Fish chuckled at this and grabbed a knife from the table as she held it out to him. Oswald could only laugh, trying to keep his emotions under control._

" _It's just a metaphor. I would NEVER do anything as ridiculous as-" he began to say._

" _Just prove your loyalty to me…Penguin." she said._

_Oswald's nervous smile faded as his expression turned to pure rage._

" _Ms. Mooney, don't you dare—" he said._

_Before he could finish, Fish smacked him down with a chair and began to beat him with her bat. For the first time, things didn't go as he had planned, but what went through his head was one question: who told Fish about the start of his scheme?_

* * *

_The next day, in the morning, Oswald met with Falcone at the cemetery. He kept his grip hard on his umbrella as the Don turned to him._

" _Any last words or requests before they kill you for snitching?" Falcone asked._

_The criminal took a deep breath as he thought about it for a moment. What was going to be his request?_

" _I want you to give Jim Gordon the job of killing me." he said._

" _The guy who works with Harvey Bullock? Why is that?"_

_Oswald bit his lip. He wanted to answer with "because I love him", but it felt selfish…ridiculous even._

" _He's the only person that can be convinced to spare my life," he said. "If I do get my life spared, I'll be your snitch."_

_Falcone nodded as he closely examined him and said, "You're so much like him…"_

" _But I'm not. I'm nothing like my father at all."_

" _So, what valuable information do you have for me?"_

_Oswald smirked at this. Oh, the secrets he knew about his boss…and he knew just the one to tell._

" _Fish is planning on overthrowing you. I've heard her talking about it multiple times." he said._

_Falcone raised an eyebrow before putting his hand on the lower ranking criminal's shoulder._

" _Thank you for telling me this." he said with a smile._

_Oswald nodded and smiled back at him. All he could do was hope that the plan was going to work…_

* * *

_His brain felt fuzzy as Bullock swung open the trunk of the police cruiser, showing it to Gordon._

" _Please…I—" Oswald began to say._

" _SHUT UP!" Bullock said, causing the criminal to close his eyes in fear._

_Bullock's rage reminded him too much of his father, but at least, he finally had Gordon right where he wanted._

" _This little weasel snitched to the Major Crimes Unit! Falcone wants us to put a bullet in his head right here at the docks or else, we're both screwed." Bullock said to his partner._

" _I don't think this is right, Harvey." Gordon said._

" _Look, Jim, I don't make the rules. Trust me, I don't want to do this either," Bullock said before pointing to the umbrella boy in the trunk. "We're in a mobster battlefield because of scumbags like him!"_

" _I know that, but there has to be another way." his partner said._

" _There is NO other way, Jim. This guy right here is Terrance Cobblepot's son! I've heard the tales about his dear old dad before his mysterious death and he was a ruthless business man with various mob connections." Bullock said._

" _But that Terrance guy died years ago," Gordon said, gesturing to the trunk. "We can't just kill people for nearly screwing us over."_

" _Jim, I might be a cynic, but I would hate if something were to happen to you, to us. I can't let some dead business man's son be the death of us," his older, more experienced partner said. "So, get your boyfriend out of the trunk, bring him to the edge of the pier, and shoot him."_

_Gordon shook his head and looked at the trunk as he said under his breath, "He's not my boyfriend…"  
_

_Bullock scoffed, knowing the way the criminal was looking at his partner. Without hesitation, Gordon forcefully pulled Oswald out of the trunk and held his gun to the back of his head._

" _Walk." Gordon said with a stern expression._

_Oswald limped towards the end of the pier as Gordon followed him with the gun in hand, turning to face him._

" _Please, Detective Gordon! I beg you, spare me. I'll do whatever you say, I'll…I'll be your slave for life!" he said. "Has anyone told you how attractive you are when you're angry?"_

_Bullock crossed his arms and watched the scene as he rolled his eyes upon hearing the last bit the criminal had said._

" _There's a war coming. Falcone's going soft, so it's the perfect opportunity for his enemies to go after him. The city's going to fall apart!" Oswald said. "I'm one of the smartest people here, so I know it's going to happen. Let me help you…please!"_

" _Shut up!" Gordon said. "Turn around!"_

_He had him face the end of the pier and pointed the gun at him as Oswald felt his body shake. What he heard next were five words that changed his life forever:_

" _Don't ever come back to Gotham…"_


	8. Not a Perfect Man

The cops' jaws were to the floor as no one DARED to move, their muscles frozen in shock. Bullock clenched his fists and tried to keep his anger under control as he glared at Gordon. They were all so dead because the scumbag of a weasel didn't die.

Oswald ignored their reactions and smiled once he turned to Gordon, who still couldn't believe what he was seeing. He looked so adorable when he was confused or in shock…

"Hello, Gordon. It's a pleasure to see you again." he said.

"Why did you come here? You're sending us to our—" the detective began to say.

Oswald stopped him from talking and pulled out his confession, saying, "There IS a reason for all of this. I wrote it down…"

"What the hell is all this?" Bullock asked.

Gordon didn't speak or respond to his partner as the criminal cleared his throat and began to read.

"James Gordon, I wanted to tell you something from the heart. From the moment I met you in that alleyway, you've never left my thoughts. Seeing you was like feeling warm for the first time, hearing music for the first time, and seeing color for the first time. You bring a smile to my face. These words I say to you are the truth from my heart and soul. I love you more than anything. My only hope is that you feel the same." Oswald said, reading from his paper.

The entire GCPD fell silent. All eyes were on Gordon, who was paralyzed in fear upon hearing this love confession. How was he supposed to respond to that when Barbara was still angry at him over the Wayne Family killer being framed? Bullock shook his head in disapproval and sighed as he paced.

"I know I'm not a perfect man, but you're the most perfect person I've ever met in—" Oswald began to say.

"You should go. NOW." Bullock said with a slight growl.

The criminal put the confession in his pocket, his smile smaller than it was when he looked at Gordon, and asked, "Why is that?"

"JUST LEAVE!" Bullock said.

The other workers of the GCPD moved back after his intense outburst while staring between the former umbrella boy and Gordon, unsure how to react with everything happening so suddenly.

"Yes, I should be going now…" Oswald said with a nod. "I'll be seeing all of you soon."

With that, he turned and left the building. A smirk formed on his face as he knew for certain that deep down, Gordon had felt the same way about him. He was sure of it…

* * *

The next day, Edward paced around the lab while thinking about what he heard had happened at the GCPD. Was it true? Had his all-time favorite criminal return from the grave? According to the rumors, he showed up and declared his undying love for Gordon.

 _No…he can't POSSIBLY have feelings for Gordon. Oh, how I wished I was there to stop him from confessing._ he thought, his anger flaring up.

But why was he feeling this way? He was in love with Kristen and no one else, but where did these unexpected, unexplainable feelings for Oswald Cobblepot, a criminal, come from?

Edward shook his head and grabbed the newspaper that was sitting on the counter near the examination table, the front page declaring his idol as found and very much alive. There was no escaping from his obsession now.

* * *

Hours later, Maroni's men attacked one of Falcone's many warehouses, stealing money and killing Falcone's Russian henchman. Oswald walked alongside Frankie as the men dashed out of the building.

"See? I told you I was right," he said to the Don's right hand man.

Frankie laughed to himself and immediately pulled out his gun, pointing it right at him.

"The boss may not have seen through your little schemes, but I have. That's why I have to kill you." he said.

 _SOMEONE'S a little jealous…_ Oswald thought as he gestured to some of the other henchmen who grab and disarm Frankie.

"What the hell?" Frankie asked.

Oswald let out an amused laugh as he picked up Frankie's gun and pointed it right at him, saying, "Frankie, I believe your weakness is that you're greedy. I mean, you don't even pay your own little minions enough. It was easy for me to turn them against you, but I'm afraid you'll have to die."

Without any second thoughts, he shot Frankie through the heart and threw his victim's gun out once he was finished.

 _I just need to keep up this snitch act a bit longer. Soon enough, Gordon will be by my side as I rule Gotham's criminal underworld._ he thought.

* * *

"And another addition to my collection…" Edward said to himself as he placed the article about Oswald being found alive into his shrine to his favorite criminal.

Taking a deep breath, he sealed it with the box and fixed his glasses. His reaction to finding out about his idol's crush on Gordon still bothered him. Again, like with getting angry over Oswald getting hurt, Edward never felt anything like this before.

It was almost as if he was bringing out this emotional side that he never really knew or experienced enough. The confession to Gordon just made his skin crawl thinking about it. Sure, Gordon was a good friend, but Edward wanted to stop him.

Surprisingly, he wanted to hurt him, but the other thing he wanted to do mentally shocked him more: he wanted to kill him…


	9. According to Plan

Edward fidgeted with the notes he had recently taken on a recent case involving a fighter who was found dead that morning. He ran up to Gordon and Bullock, a massive smile on his face.

"Feel free to tell us, Nygma. We won't judge you." Gordon said.

"Well, the victim's name is Coleman Lawson. He recently moved here, but according to my notes, I've noticed something…off," Edward said as he looked through his notes and avoided giving his coworker a glare. "What instrument can you hear, but never see?"

"No, we just need the information, NOT riddles." Bullock said, groaning.

"Your voice! The answer is your voice! Do you want me to look at all of the fingerprints?" the forensics scientist asked.

"Yeah, go ahead. I don't really care…" Bullock said under his breath.

"Fantastic! Did you know that some cats are allergic to humans?" Edward said.

"We would love to stay, but we need to go." Gordon said as he and Bullock left.

* * *

 _I never thought I would be back at this dump…_ Oswald thought, limping into Fish's nightclub.

He ignored the glares from the workers as he arrived at Fish's table where a man he didn't recognize was standing near her.

"So, we meet again, Oswald…" Fish said with a smirk while gesturing to the man. "This is my new umbrella boy, Timothy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Oswald. I've heard stories." Timothy said as he held his hand out to him.

Oswald stared at his hand and shook it, saying, "I'm sure you have. Charmed to meet you…"

Immediately, he wiped his hand on his suit before placing the brooch he got earlier today on the table in front of Fish.

"I'm only looking for peace on Maroni's half. Don't take this seriously," he said.

Fish picked up the brooch, looking at it as she said, "It's beautiful…"

Suddenly, she stabbed the pin into Oswald's hand. He gritted his teeth in pain as his limp leg gave out and made him fall to his knees, gesturing his bodyguards to stand back once they pulled their guns on his old boss.

"You haven't suffered enough for betraying me, Penguin." Fish said, wiping the blood off of the pin. "This truce between Falcone and Maroni is the only reason why you're still alive. You should be grateful for that."

"Oh, I am…" Oswald said while smirking.

* * *

That night, Edward looked over Coleman Lawson's corpse as he took more notes on his findings, but he couldn't concentrate.

All day at the back of his mind, all that was in his head was how Oswald loved Gordon. He absolutely despised having to hide his jealousy around his coworker. Gordon didn't judge him like any of the others despite always being in a hurry with Bullock.

 _Oswald Cobblepot is mine, no one else's. I'm sorry, Gordon, but I refuse to let you take him from me._ Edward thought.

He put his notes up and walked out of the lab, only to bump into the medical examiner.

"Watch it, Nygma!" the examiner said.

"S-Sorry…" Edward said as he walked past him and rolled his eyes.

He was so tired of being picked on, having endured this since he was a child when the other kids or even his siblings treating him like some sort of freak.

One day, he was going to make them all pay…

* * *

The next day, Timothy groaned as he opened his eyes and tried to hold his head, only to realize that he was handcuffed and tied to a chair. He could see the henchmen holding onto their guns and tensed as he heard uneven footsteps fill the room.

Oswald walked to the front of the table and stood face to face with Timothy, who struggled hopelessly to get out.

"I wouldn't recommend struggling so much." he said.

"Why are you doing this? I was nice to you for god's sake!" Timothy asked.

"But I'm not really nice per say. Tell me, what does Fish have planned?"

"What makes you think I'll tell you? Fish says that you're a little weasel, a traitor!"

 _No…don't kill him YET, Oswald. Take your time…_ he thought.

Oswald laughed at his question and said, "My mother told me to not listen to the people who underestimate me. You, sir, are doing just that. I won't ask you again: what does Fish have planned? Does she have any vulnerable…weak spots I can attack easily?"

"I don't know! Honestly!" Timothy said.

"Come now, don't be shy. It's only a tiny bit of information and I'll let you go…"

"Alright! I'll tell you…Fish planted someone near Falcone. I don't know who she is though."

Oswald smirked at this information, turning to his bodyguards.

"Gentlemen, I have to go now. Feel free to kill him since he's no longer of any use to me and make sure the body is NEVER found." he said before leaving the room.

The guards all pointed their guns at Timothy and began to fire at him. It was another part of the plan completed…


	10. They Meet

Time seemed to have moved at the slowest pace imaginable, but both gentlemen were able to further their plans during this time: Oswald built his army with great success and quickly took over Fish's business while Edward continued his job as normal and was able to get the medical examiner fired, their respective obsessions growing stronger.

Neither had any idea that this very day was going to impact both of them…

* * *

Oswald limped into the GCPD as he stared at the invitation in his hand. He HAD to get this to Gordon…maybe after that, he would love him at last.

Unknown to him, Edward spotted him from the top of the stairs and nearly screamed. The criminal he had admired for such a long time was here, possibly to see him. He swiftly walked down the steps as he watched him.

Oswald fidgeted with the invitation while looking everywhere for Gordon, the only person he wanted to see. He could sense someone following him, which only annoyed him. Edward then stood next to him with a massive smile on his face.

"What?!" the criminal asked in annoyance.

"Hi, I'm a massive admirer of yours." he said.

"What do you want from me?"

"What I want, the poor have, the rich need, and if you eat it, you die."

Oswald raised an eyebrow and asked him, "Are you asking me a riddle?"

"Yeah, do you like them? I like riddles." Edward said, still smiling at him.

 _This is so ridiculous…why am I even wasting time? Where's Gordon?_ Oswald thought.

"Could you please— "

"The answer's nothing!"

"Who are you?" Oswald asked with a groan.

"Nygma. Edward Nygma," the scientist said as he shook his hand. "You must be Mr. Cobblepot."

He laughed to himself and said, "And you're in my personal space…"

Edward saw this and slowly backed away, the smile still plastered on his face.

"Did you know that penguins keep their eggs warm by balancing them?" he asked.

Oswald shook his head, knowing that he was completely wasting his time.

"Look, it was a pleasure to meet you, good sir, but I advise you to STAY AWAY," he said.

 _Why doesn't he like me? I TRIED to be nice!_ Edward thought, his breathing growing heavy in rage.

"Alright then. See you around." he said before leaving.

Oswald took a deep breath before seeing the doors to the GCPD open as Gordon walked in. Immediately, he ran towards him with the invitation out.

"Gordon, I wanted you to come to my club's reopening and I was thinking that maybe…I can help you with your case and we could—" he began to say.

"I'm sorry, but I can't," Gordon said as he took the invitation from him. "You should've never come back here since last time made me uncomfortable."

 _First, that Nygma fellow annoys me, now the love of my life rejects me?!_ Oswald thought.

"DON'T treat me like that. One day, you're going to need my help," he said.

Gordon rolled his eyes and walked off, tossing the invitation into a trash can.

* * *

Edward had no idea how to feel as he moved the box leading into his shrine and stared at the invitation he had dug out of the trashcan. This HAD to have his fingerprints all over it and he needed to keep it.

"He probably still likes Gordon, that's why he's annoyed at me…" he said to himself, putting the invitation in and slamming the box through it. "God damn it! I can't believe I messed up again!"

 _It doesn't have to be this hard, I need to have him notice me…but how?_ Edward thought as he paced around his room.

He needed to do something to gain Oswald's affections…


	11. So Much for Happiness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Contains self-harm

After "accidently" dropping the bombshell on the commissioner's dark secret to Gordon and Bullock, Edward decided to move onto something more important: asking Kristen out.

He ran to the main area of the GCPD with a smile on his face as he scanned the room for the girl of his dreams. Grinning, he saw her and walked up, only for his smile to vanish to see her making out with one of the cops.

 _She has a boyfriend? When did this happen?_ he thought.

Edward just stood there in a state of shock as the cop, her boyfriend, shoved past him. Kristen then saw him and approached him.

"Hi, Ed, I didn't expect to see you out of your lab." she said.

Then, he noticed the bruises on her arm and said, "You're hurt. Was he doing this?"

"Oh, this?" Kristen asked. "Tom gets a little rough sometimes. He has his moments, you know."

"If there's any problem, come to me immediately. Don't you understand how serious this is, Miss Kringle?"

"Look, I'm fine, Ed. Now, if you excuse me, Tom invited me out to dinner, so I need to get ready."

With that, she walked off. Edward sighed in frustration and stormed into the lab before growling and punching the table. Then, he heard a laugh, which made him jump.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"Down here," a voice said.

The forensics scientist looked down on the table and saw his reflection grinning smugly at him.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"I'm you, but not a complete idiot. I've always been here. After all, I'm part of your mind…"

Edward backed off from the table and said, "I don't understand."

 _Now, I'm talking to myself_ … he thought.

"You don't understand? God, you really ARE that stupid, aren't you?" his reflection said with a laugh.

That was his breaking point: Edward grabbed a scalpel from the table and unrolled his sleeve, holding it to his arm.

"Get out of my head! I swear, I'll—" he began to say.

"Or what? You know you'll only be hurting yourself if you do that."

"I have to get rid of you before this gets worse."

With that, he sliced his arm and cried out in pain as he grabbed a tissue to stop the bleeding, repeating this process as his reflection, his evil split-personality, smirked at this.

* * *

The doors to the nightclub creaked open as Oswald sighed in relief. Lately, the business was going great: he had Butch as his new bodyguard, Falcone's former assassin, Victor Zsasz, was now working for him, and his mother was incredibly proud of him.

Despite all that, it was…boring. All he wanted was something interesting to happen, and that was what was going to happen to him today.

He smirked upon seeing Gordon and Bullock make their way to him with stern expressions. What could possibly be the problem now?

"I knew you were going to come, Gordon..." he said.

"This is serious, we need your help." Gordon said before explaining the situation.

"I'll be happy to help you, but he didn't need to come along." he said while gesturing to Bullock, who glared at him.

"Jim, do we really need to have HIM come along?" Bullock asked his partner under his breath.

"Remember, Nygma said that the victim he analyzed mentioned that Falcone had the files. Cobblepot here worked for him." Gordon said.

Bullock rolled his eyes as Oswald stood up and asked, "Let's get to work, shall we?"

* * *

Edward spent the night wanting to smack himself for not knowing anything that was happening to him. It wasn't his fault; he didn't know that Kristen had a boyfriend or that he even had a split personality.

Groaning, he took off his glasses and covered his face. What was he going to do now? He loved Kristen more than anything, but she was running off with one of his tormentors at the GCPD.

 _I guess Oswald's my best option, IF he's not eying Gordon still…_ he thought.

He let out another growl at the thought of his idol and Gordon together. Edward then rolled down his sleeve to look at his scars from earlier and shook his head, pulling it back up.

Maybe this new personality was right, he WAS an idiot…

* * *

Meanwhile, Gordon, Bullock, and Oswald arrived at an old barn. The trio stepped out of the car and looked at the building in front of them.

"Falcone told the commissioner on the phone that this was the safest place." the criminal said to the two cops.

"Alright then, let's just get this over with…" Bullock said with a groan as they approached the front door.

Gordon took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A man answered the door and raised an eyebrow at them as the trio immediately faked smiles.

"Can I help you three?" the man asked.

"Commissioner Loeb sent us." Oswald said, making Bullock cover his face in disappointment.

 _Ugh, words cannot describe how much I hate this guy…_ Bullock thought

"Well, come on in then." the man said as he gestured them inside.

"We're a security team sent to check out—" Gordon began to say, walking inside.

The man stopped and turned to his wife, saying, "Marge, get the keys."

Knowing what he meant, she left and came back with a shotgun. She then began shooting at the three. Oswald hid behind the two detectives as Bullock shot the man in the arm and Gordon disarmed the wife.

Bullock glared at his least favorite criminal and pointed at him, saying, "Don't you dare fucking move, make sure those two don't get in any trouble. Jim and I are going to the attic."

Oswald nodded and watched the two disappear upstairs in disappointment. Gordon was STILL ignoring him.

 _I'll make sure he doesn't ignore me anymore._ he thought, approaching the couple.

Later, once they were gone, Bullock and Gordon suddenly came running down the stairs and he followed after them out of the barn. They soon ended up back at the car as Bullock wiped sweat off of his forehead.

"So, how did it go?" Oswald asked.

"Terribly…" Gordon said, out of breath.

"What's it to you, bird brain?! We almost died!" Bullock said.

 _Almost died? At least he's here now…_ the criminal thought as he approached Gordon.

"Don't you do what I think you're going to you, you—" Bullock began to say.

What happened next made him want to punch the bird man: Oswald then kissed Gordon, who froze in fear and had a look of shock in his face. Bullock clenched his fists as he watched them slowly pull away.

Gordon wiped his mouth and stared at Oswald (who happened to be smiling at him) like a deer in headlights.

Clearing his throat, the cop got into the police car without another word. Bullock then shoved his rival inside of it before driving off.

What was going to happen now?


End file.
